This week’s “Gamechanger of the Week” isn’t going to one person in particular. In fact, we’re giving it to two different groups. But as football season begins this week, it’s been amazing over the last month to see the pre-emptive work of the JACKSONVILLE SPORTS MEDICINE PROGRAM and WHO WE PLAY FOR to ensure our student-athletes are safe this fall and beyond.
“Who We Play For” was inspired by the 2007 tragedy in Cocoa Beach in which Rafe Maccarone, a talented soccer player, went into Sudden Cardiac Arrest at practice because of an unknown heart condition. As it turns out, Rafe’s condition would’ve had a 95% chance of being detected if an electrocardiogram heart screening had been conducted as part of his sports physical. Since 2013, “Who We Play For” has sponsored over 250,000 heart screenings – almost all of them entirely free – and that includes heart screenings done this last month at Atlantic Coast and Andrew Jackson High Schools.
Over the weekend, the Jaguars hosted athletic trainers from across Duval Schools for emergency action plan training, led by the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program – a leadership council which includes longtime director of JSMP, the great Bob Sefcik and our guy, Jacksonville Jaguars VP of Player Health and Performance Jeff “Fergy” Ferguson! On Friday, JSMP also hosted a sports medicine camp for 50 students from Duval Schools at the Baptist Center for Professional Excellence.
Thank you as always to one of our biggest cheerleaders here at Action Sports Jax, Duval Schools athletic director Tammie Talley, for not just keeping us up-to-date on the latest scores and stats: but celebrating these equally important wins off the field! Best of luck to all our fall athletes and thank you Who We Play For and the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program for working to keep our athletes safe and healthy!